1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a connector assembly for a surgical instrument and, more particularly, to a connector assembly for securing a surgical tool to a housing of a surgical instrument.
2. Background Description
Connector assemblies in surgical instruments play an important role in the efficacy and safety of the surgical instrument. That is, a surgical instrument will not be deemed safe and effective without a connector assembly which can properly secure the surgical tool to the housing of the surgical instrument. It is with this in mind that manufacturers of surgical instruments give the utmost attention and care to the design and manufacture of connector assemblies.
Connector assemblies are typically referred to as collets and are designed to lock the surgical tool within the housing of the surgical instrument. Although many collets are currently manufactured and sold worldwide for use in surgical instruments, there is certainly concern that many of these collets do not maintain a secure connection between the surgical tool and the housing of the surgical instrument over extended periods of time. It is also noted that many of these collets can only secure a surgical tool to the housing with cumbersome tools, which have a tendency of breaking or being lost. In any of these scenarios, the surgical instrument may be rendered useless, thus requiring the disposal of the surgical instrument.
By way of explanation, in order to mount and secure a surgical tool such as a surgical saw blade within a housing of the surgical instrument it is necessary to place the surgical saw blade into the collet of the surgical instrument. Thereafter, the collet is rotated by a key or a special tool so as to press fit (e.g., friction fit) the surgical saw blade between opposing arms of the collet. However, these type of collets have a tendency to become xe2x80x9cstrippedxe2x80x9d during the mounting of or removal of the surgical saw blade. This may pose a severe safety risk to the patient, especially if the surgical saw blade breaks or becomes worn and cannot be removed during a surgical procedure. In the cases when the collet becomes stripped or otherwise rendered inoperable, the surgical instrument must either be discarded or retrofitted with a new collet.
A further shortcoming of press or friction fitting the surgical tool within the collet of the surgical instrument is the fact that the surgical tool can easily become dislodged or loosened during the surgical procedure. This typically happens due to the reciprocating or rotational movement of the surgical tool during the surgical procedure. The loosening or dislodgement of the surgical tool may also be the result of an overused or deteriorated collet, or simply due to the force applied by the surgeon on the surgical instrument during the surgical procedure. Regardless of cause, such loosening or dislodgement of the surgical tool from the surgical instrument certainly poses a serious risk to the patient during a surgical procedure.
Spring loaded chucking systems used in surgical instruments are also well known in the medical field. However, the design of these type of spring loaded systems permit the surgical saw blade to be accidently ejected therefrom; that is, these spring loaded systems have a tendency to permit the surgeon to accidently xe2x80x9chitxe2x80x9d the spring loaded release mechanism during use thereof. In this case, the surgical tool will spontaneously eject from the surgical instrument posing serious injury to both the surgeon and the patient.
What is thus needed is a connector assembly that is easy to use and which securely mounts and locks the surgical tool within the housing of the surgical instrument. Such an assembly would preferably be a keyless system.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly which overcomes the above shortcomings.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly which securely connects and locks a surgical tool within a housing of a surgical instrument.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly which properly aligns the surgical tool within the housing of the surgical instrument.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly which securely locks the surgical tool within the housing of the surgical instrument without any special tools, equipment and the like.
It is also a further object of the present invention to provide a connector assembly which allows a surgeon to easily remove and replace the surgical tool during a surgical procedure.
In one aspect of the invention, a connector assembly is provided for connecting a surgical tool to a surgical instrument. The connector assembly has a gripper having a centrally located bore and opposing shelves formed in the centrally located bore. The opposing shelves form an elongated slot therebetween. A shaft having a longitudinal slot and adjacent sections having predetermined cross sections is slidably located within the central bore. The predetermined cross sections of the shaft prohibit movement of the shaft when the gripper is in a first position. A biasing spring mates with the gripper and the shaft.
In another aspect of the invention, a connector assembly has a collet with a first section, a second section and a third section. A first shoulder is formed between the first section and the second section and a second shoulder is formed between the second section and the third section. A slot extends along a length of the collet to the third section. A gripper having a centrally located bore is rotable about the collet. The shoulder and the opposing shoulder are aligned over opposing ledges of shelves located within the bore of the gripper when the gripper is biased in a first position.
In yet another embodiment, a surgical instrument is provided with a connector assembly. The surgical instrument includes a motor positioned within a housing. A collet is pivotally connected to the motor. The collet is used for connecting a surgical tool to the surgical instrument. The connector assembly includes the collet in addition to a gripper having a centrally located bore. Shelves are formed in the centrally located bore of the gripper which form an elongated slot within the bore of the gripper. The collet includes a longitudinal slot as well as a first section, a second section and a third section. The second section has a different cross section than either of the first section and the second section. A first and second shoulder are formed between the first, second and third sections. The shoulders prevent movement of the gripper when the gripper is biased in a first position.